


Begin Again

by starshynebrite



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Percabeth AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 08:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3112388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starshynebrite/pseuds/starshynebrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Percabeth AU]<br/>Based on the song by Taylor Swift</p>
            </blockquote>





	Begin Again

Annabeth sighed and pulled her hair into a ponytail, putting on some light makeup. It had been eight long months since Luke Castellan had vanished from her life. After he'd broken up with her, Annabeth had felt as if nothing could heal her heart or numb her pain. She'd tried to convince herself that she was strong enough to be by herself again, but to be honest, the thought terrified her. 

Of course, she was an independent woman, but it wasn't that. It was the fact that she couldn't enjoy the things she liked with someone anymore. She was so used to having Luke around, talking about random things, or even making fun of her high heels and music taste. 

But Annabeth didn't want to talk about him, or even think about him anymore. She'd already told Piper exactly how she felt and she'd cried out all her tears. She'd eaten too much ice cream and watched too many chick flicks. Now she was comepletely clean. 

She'd told Piper she was finally going out "for fun". She couldn't hide forever. But she vowed that she wouldn't let anyone hurt her again. She was through trying to be what everyone wanted to be. She was through having to be nice about ugly comments. None of it mattered except what she thought. "I'm okay. I'm beautiful. And I'm done being the lonely miserable Bella of this not so fictional story," she told herself in the mirror before turning away and walking out the door. 

Annabeth didn't bother to wait for Piper. Instead, she grabbed a chocolate croissant and a coffee, and sat outside. The breeze felt nice and after being cooped up and feeling miserable, she allowed herself to smile. 

"Do I have something on my face?" A voice shook her out of her daydream and Annabeth looked up to see a tall, lanky man with slightly disheveled hair, grinning at her a bit. 

"Ummm...no?" Annabeth replied, looking away and sipping her coffee. She didn't intend to be rude, but she obviously wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

"Oh, good. People never bother telling me and then I always end up making a fool of myself," the man shrugged. He was either extremely oblivious about Annabeth's feelings, or a little too arrogant. But by the looks of it, he definitely seemed to be the former. He grinned at her and Annabeth noted that his eyes crinkled and he only had one dimple. Luke never smiled like that. It seemed he never really meant it. Annabeth blinked and looked away again, telling herself not to think about Luke. Luke was gone. Luke would never be a part of her life again.

"Sorry to bother you," the man said sincerely, then looked around,"Did you happen to see another female around here? Her name's Piper," he said.

Annabeth's head shot up,"Piper? Piper McLean?" 

"She's the one," the man looked surprised. "Is she here?"

"Well, no. Not yet. I was supposed to--" Annabeth stopped, realizing what Piper was doing. "I was supposed to meet her here," she said slowly.

"Wait..." the man's eyebrows shot up. "That's...interesting," Annabeth coud see it in his eyes that he realized that Piper had planned this. 

"Percy!" Piper yelled from across the street. Annabeth looked towards the sound of her friend's voice, wanting to shoot her a glare, but instead, she found herself staring at Piper's boyfriend, Jason Grace. 

"Piper!" the man--Percy was a strange name to hear for a man, but then again, maybe it wasn't, Annabeth thought, looking at the childlike expressions of the man standing in front of her.-- grinned and went over, hugging PIper tightly. "It's so great to finally see you! How long has it been?"

"Five years," Piper hugged him back and replied, glancing at Jason. "Percy, this is Jason, my boyfriend. And Jason, this is Percy. He's the one who I told you about from high school."

"The one with all the crazy pranks?" Jason asked.

"No," Piper shook her head, grinning. "That was Leo. This is guy that almost drowned me. Then made me break my arm when we were skateboarding. And was basically my big brother in high school," 

"hey! Those were both accidents!" Percy protested, but he was grinning like an idiot. "Nice to meet you though, Jason. And I'm technically still your big brother, sort of. So as big brother, it is my obligation to say that if you ever hurt Piper I will personally accidentally drown you."

 Piper rolled her eyes and Jason laughed. "Duly noted," 

"So you met Annabeth then?" Piper grinned, her eyes twinkling, as she sat across from Annabeth. 

 _I'm going to murder you._ Annabeth glared at Piper, but Piper ignored her, patting the chair next to her for Jason. 

Percy hesitated and gave Annabeth a look that said  _I'm Sorry_ before sitting next to Piper and Annabeth. Annabeth sighed and sipped her coffee. It wasn't Percy's fault, so she couldn't be mad at him. Instead, she channeled her anger into drinking, which was a seriously bad idea. She cursed as the coffee burnt her tongue, covering her mouth with her hands. She glared at Piper, who looked a bit worried, but didn't say anything as Percy grabbed a small jar with sugar cubes in it. "Take one," he urged, his eyes wide. "My mom made me suck on a sugar cube when I burned my tongue," he explained as Annabeth took one in her hand and then popped it into her mouth. 

It wasn't the best thing ever, but it didn't feel as numb. Plus, the sugar tasted nice. "Thanks," Annabeth mumbled, looking away from him before she ended up staring into those sea green eyes. They were much more exntrancing than Luke's blue eyes with those flecks of gold that shined in the sunlight. Annabeth blinked, begging herself to stop.  _You've gotta stop thinking about the jerk._ "Stop it," Annabeth mumbled, then looked up as she realized she'd said it aloud. "Not you... just... me," she tried to explain and then stood up,"I've gotta go," she pushed away the chair and sighed,"Good bye. It was nice meeting you, Percy," she said quickly. She had no intention of trying to meet up with him again. 

Percy stood up, lookng a bit concerned,"Are you sure you're okay? Let me at least walk you to your car,"

"No car," Annabeth replied quickly, gathering her things and walking away. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't even realize Percy was following her. 

"Then I guess I'll be walking you home," Percy looked at her with a grin, but it quickly vanished when he saw the look on Annabeth's face. "I mean... if you don't mind," he added quickly.

Annabeth was going to say something, but then decided against it. He was just trying to be nice. And it wasn't his fault that Annabeth was upset, so she let it go. "Alright. But I'm going to play some music. I forgot my headphones at home," 

"You don't need to ask me," Percy shrugged. "I'm not even here," he smiled softly, and Annabeth could tell he was really trying to make sure he hadn't hurt her in some way. 

Annabeth sighed and turned up her music, a small smile fleeting across her face as the familiar chords of the music played.  _Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain._

"You like James Taylor?" Percy asked suddenly, making Annabeth pause the music just as the next verse began. 

She looked at him, nodding lightly. "Yes? Is that a... bad thing?" she asked hesitantly. Luke had never understood why she loved it so much.  _You don't even like whatever this kind of music is. So why do you like him? I don't even get the song!_ He'd said, but Annabeth hadn't paid any attention to Luke's hatred towards her music collection. She'd always thought his James Taylor had beautiful music, and the lyrics spoke to her in ways Luke had never understood. 

Percy shook his head, his blue eyes widening. "No way! It's the greatest thing!"

"You listen to James Taylor?" Annabeth must have looked doubtful because Percy sang (a little off-key) the next verses of the song:  _I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end./_ _I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again._

"Oh," Annabeth whispered, looking away. "I guess I'm not the only one then," she smiled a little before playing the music again. She was afraid that if she tried to continue the conversation, she might end up turning it into something it wasn't. Or that she'd mess it all up. Or that it would end up being worse than Luke. Luke never left her and it had been a long eight months of trying to determine what she had done wrong. Had she spoken too soon? All love did was break the soul into pieces and scatter them into the depths of Tartarus. 

Annabeth stopped in front of a small apartment building then finally turned to look at Percy. "Thank you," she offered a small smile. "Ummm... since you walked me all the way here, do you want a drink or snack before heading back?"

Percy bit his lip,"Actually, I really need to use the bathroom if you don't mind," 

Annabeth's lip twitched but she turned back so she wouldn't see her smile. She clibed the steps and unlocked the door. "Down the hall and the door to the left," she informed him, watching as he brushed past her quickly.

As Percy went to the bathroom, Annabeth set her phone on the couch, letting the next song echo through the mostly empty rooms. Now that she'd been outside, her small apartment felt haunted and creepy, rather than what it used to be when Luke was in her life. There she went again. ANnabeth was really not one to be so lovesick. She'd always been the hardworking girl that never let her emotions stop her from pursuing her dreams. Yet, here she was, drowning in her own emotions for the last eight months. Sure, she'd accomplished a lot in those eight months, but the work she'd done hadn't been the same. She'd lost the passion she'd had. But she was going to come back. She wasn't going to be moping around anymore. She had to get her life back and that started now. 

"Annabeth?" Percy waved his hand in front of her, and Annabeth snapped out of her daze, staring into Percy's worried eyes. "Are you okay?"

Annabeth blinked and turned away,"Yeah. I'm fine. The music kind of took over," she explained, going into the small kitchen and grabbing a glass of water,"here," she held it out and Percy took it gratefully.

"Thanks for letting me use the bathroom," he nodded, looking around the living room as he made his way towards the door. He stopped when he saw the record player and the huge rack of records. "I've literally never met anyone with as many James Taylor records as me," he looked at Annabeth and grinned a bit. "Goodbye, Annabeth," he put his hands in his pockets and walked outside. 

Annabeth watched Percy leave and frowned a bit as she heard the lyrics from another James Taylor song: _I can't sing the blues anymore..._

At first Annabeth had thought she was talking to herself, but maybe it was a sign. James Taylor was right. She wanted to start over. And... Percy was a nice guy, right?  _Take a side and step along._ Annabeth's legs moved before she even thought about it. "Percy!" she yelled, running outside and stopping at the door, watching him walk. "Percy!"

Percy stopped and turned, a bit confused. "Yes?" he walked back slowly. 

Annabeth took a deep breath. "Maybe you and me could meet again," she breathed out, the lyrics flwoing before she could even think that it was sort of grammatically incorrect. 

Percy raised an eyebrow and then smiled, pulling out his phone. "Okay," 

...

Annabeth had agreed to go to lunch with Percy Jackson on Wednesday. Now that Wednesday was here, she had no idea what to do. Here she was, standing in front of her full length mirror, unsure of what to wear. She'd decided on a nice, navy blue dress, and her favorite gold heels. Luke had always hated when she wore heels, saying that Annabeth wasn't "the type" of girl to wear that kind of stuff. She'd ignored him of course. She liked wearing them, and if Percy minded, then he clearly wasn't as nice as she thought. 

Annabeth sighed and walked outside, putting in her earbuds and letting James Taylor sing about exactly the same emotions she had felt in the last eight months. She knew she wouldn't forget Luke so easily. After all, when he had broken up with her, she had wondered if he was going to propose. 

She hadn't expected Percy to already be at the cafe. But clearly, Percy had gotten here early enough to already be sitting comfortably. When he saw her, however, he stood up and waved lightly. Annabeth smiled hesitantly, watching as his eyes lit up when he saw her. 

"You look beautiful," Percy pulled out her chair and Annabeth thanked him, blushing lightly. At least she knew Percy had manners. Luke had nev-- no. There would be no Luke today. 

"So, Annabeth," Percy started. "What else do you like, besides James Taylor?"he smirked.

"Sleeping," Annabeth smiled a bit. For some reason though, her first thought when she had replied was  _Goodness, that's not even remotely funny._

She was clearly confused when Percy burst out laughing. "Well that makes two of us!" he grinned, and Annabeth found herself grinning back at him. 

"Well when you're not sleeping, what are you doing?" Percy managed to ask after catching his breath. When he laughed, his whole body shook and he looked like a little kid. It was definitely a change from Luke's seriousness (STOP. COMPARING. HIM. TO. LUKE.), and it was kind of cute. 

"I like architecture." Annabeth replied after a moment. "I'm working on designing some new buildings for downtown," she added.

"Whoa. That's pretty cool!" Percy replied enthusiastically. "I have no knowledge about architecture though," he replied so honestly that Annabeth couldn't help but smile.

"That's okay. That's my job anyway," 

Percy chuckled and then somehow, he claimed that it reminded him of when he was in high school. He launched into a crazy tale about his friend Leo and the time when Percy took the blame for Leo's incredible prank (Leo managed to make the big scoreboards in the gym say really inappropriate things about their own school during a pep rally) and how when Percy was suspended, he went to the aquarium. But then he managed to relate it all back to a job by saying,"After that I started going to the aquarium a lot more. I really want to be a marine biologist," he shrugged. 

They took turns telling random stories (though Percy's were far more entertaining, at least in Annabeth's opinion), and by the time the food came, Annabeth was feeling a way more comfortable around him. She had never really anticipated that she would go on another date with someone new. And yet here she was, starting over. And she definitely liked it.

After lunch, Percy leads her to his car, telling her that he was extremely lazy and didn't want to walk to her apartment. Annabeth smiled and got in just as Percy commented on how he would never be able to walk in heels and how did she do it?

Well, that was different. She could tell Percy didn't even mean for it to be offensive at all. He was honestly curious, and even impressed. "I got used to them. plus I really like them," she shrugged. 

"Well, I'm glad you do," Percy replied as he started to drive. They were driving in comfortable silence, and Annabeth suddenly felt the urge to tell him about Luke. She didn't really know why, but thankfully, Percy spoke before she could.

"You know, my family and I always watch the same Christmas movies every year. I can quote literally every single one of them, but my mom insists since she claims it's a family tradition. My stepdad is still a bit new to the whole thing though, so he gets really annyed when I quote all of the characters in their different voices. 

Annabeth laughed,"I'm guessing they're really bad impressions,"

"Probably," Percy agreed, looking over at her and smiling. And as Annabeth said goodbye, she actually thanked Piper for helping her get over the past and begin again.

**Author's Note:**

> Songs featured:
> 
> -"Fire and Rain" by James Taylor
> 
> -Riding on a Railroad" by James Taylor
> 
> -"You can close your eyes" by James Taylor


End file.
